A rather unsure French possession

In 1638, the French sailing ship, the Saint-Alexis, landed at Santa Apolonia. The vessel had left Dieppe on 15th January, headed for India. However, none of the Frenchmen chose to stay on the island. Of course, today there remains no physical trace of the day when the French sailors entered into possession of this uninhabited island, in the name of their king.

De Pronis took possession of the island that he called Mascarin and erected a flag at in a place which is still known as La Possession today.

In 1646, 12 slaves, on the island of Madagascar rebelled against the French authorityies established in Fort-Dauphin (in the south of the island). Rather than executing them or handing them over to the Malagasies, the Governer, Jacques de Pronis decided to exile them to Mascarin (known today as Reunion Island).

In 1649, Etienne de Flacourt, who had been sent to Fort Dauphin by the Compagnie de l’Orient to restore order in Madagascar, went back to France with Jacques de Pronis. Once the Governer de Flacourt (assigned there from 1648 to 1655) had repatriated the 12 rebels, who were found to be in excellent health, healthy, he started to gain interest in Mascarin.

In December 1649, Etienne de Flancourt and the captain of the Saint-Laurent, Roger Lebourg, took possession of the island once again in the name of King Louis the 14th and called it Bourbon in honour of the reigning dynasty. However, apart from the animals that the sailors left behind in every place that they passed through, the new Bourbon island remained free of inhabitants.empty. Following another rebellion in Madagascar, the Governer de Flacourt sent the chief of the rebels, 13 companions, six black people, a few animals and some seeds to Bourbon.

These Frenchmen established themselves in Saint-Paul but left the island after a cyclone ruined their plantations. Therefore, no descendant of French origin, dating back from to this precolonial period, exists today.

As far as the colony of Madagascar colony is concerned, it collapsed after Etienne de Flacourt left in 1655, as his successors did not live up to his reputation. The East India Company started to reduce its profits, ships progressively stopped landing there and the settlers became discouraged. Fort-Dauphin was abandoned in 1674.